Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index slipped 0.60% to $4,938.26 and snapped its four-day winning streak. Wall Street pulled back amid shaky trading and profit-taking. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.16% after its top performer had its worst day since May, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.18%) and S&P 500 (-0.65%) drifted lower.
Chipmaker NVIDIA (Nasdaq: NVDA) dropped 5.55%, dragging the tech-heavy Nasdaq down. On the other hand, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) rose 1.02% to end its longest losing streak at seven days.
Only one-third of the constituents advanced on the GovCon Index, with Textron (NYSE: TXT), Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR), and Mercury Systems (Nasdaq: MRCY) leading the gainers. Fluor outperformed following the announcement that it clinched a $45 billion ten-year Hanford Integrated Tank Disposition Contract by the US Department of Energy.
AeroVironment (Nasdaq: AVAV), the top decliner, dropped 6.44% to $166.23. The drone stock rose 27.94% three days ago after the defense contractor reported strong top and bottom line growth in Q4 2023 and increased demand for its unmanned aerial vehicles due to the current conflicts worldwide.
“The market for our systems has been really, really robust over the last couple of years. We’ve been focusing on this market quite heavily over the last several years and making the right investments so we can capitalize on the opportunity,” Wahid Nawabi, CEO of AeroVironment, told Yahoo Finance Friday.
Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and Boeing joined the 20 GCI decliners. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the Justice Department began its probe on the Boeing 737 MAX blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight.
Boeing fell 2.24% to $198.49, although the Naval Air Systems Command awarded the aircraft manufacturer the day before a $94.5 million firm-fixed-price order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement involving the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G aircraft.
Investors had mixed reactions to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ February jobs report. Last month’s US non-farm payrolls of 275,000 were higher than expected, while the BLS’ revised figure in January went down from 353,000 to 229,000. Also, the unemployment rate climbed to 3.9% from 3.7% a month earlier.
Market Summary
| INDEX | PRICE | NET CHANGE | % CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| GovCon Index Daily Average | 4,938.26 | -29.70 | -0.60% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 38,722.69 | -68.66 | -0.18% |
| S&P 500 | 5,123.69 | -33.67 | -0.65% |
| NASDAQ | 16,085.11 | -188.27 | -1.16% |
Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Percentage Performers
| SYMBOL | PRICE | NET CHANGE | % CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| TXT | 92.13 | 1.81 | 2.00% |
| FLR | 37.94 | 0.70 | 1.88% |
| MRCY | 31.08 | 0.36 | 1.17% |
| LHX | 214.6 | 1.58 | 0.74% |
| NOC | 459.5 | 3.10 | 0.68% |
Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Net Performers
| SYMBOL | PRICE | NET CHANGE | % CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| NOC | 459.5 | 3.10 | 0.68% |
| LMT | 432.9 | 2.91 | 0.68% |
| TXT | 92.13 | 1.81 | 2.00% |
| LHX | 214.6 | 1.58 | 0.74% |
| HII | 293.32 | 1.47 | 0.50% |
Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Percentage Decliners
| SYMBOL | PRICE | NET CHANGE | % CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| AVAV | 166.23 | -11.44 | -6.44% |
| ACN | 378.17 | -8.74 | -2.26% |
| BA | 198.49 | -4.54 | -2.24% |
| PSN | 81.42 | -1.35 | -1.63% |
| PLTR | 26.04 | -0.42 | -1.59% |
